Book Review: OUT OF THE ICE by Ann Turner

Title: Out of The Ice
Author: Ann Turner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Read: March 2016
Expected publication: 1 June 2016



Synopsis (Goodreads):

When environmental scientist Laura Alvarado is sent to a remote Antarctic island to report on an abandoned whaling station, she begins to uncover more than she could ever imagine.

Despite new life thriving in the icy wilderness, the whaling station is brimming with awful reminders of its bloody, violent past, and Laura is disturbed by evidence of recent human interference. Rules have been broken, and the protected wildlife is behaving strangely.

On a diving expedition, Laura is separated from her colleague. She emerges into an ice cave where, through the blue shadows, she is shocked to see an anguished figure, crying for help.

But in this freezing, lonely landscape there are ghosts everywhere, and Laura begins to sense that her own eyes cannot be trusted. Is her mind playing tricks? Has she been in the ice too long?

Back at base, Laura’s questions about the whaling station go unanswered, blocked by unhelpful scientists, unused to questions from an outsider. And Laura just can’t shake what happened in the ice cave.

Piecing together a past and present of cruelty and vulnerability that can be traced all around the globe, from Norway, to Nantucket, Europe and Antarctica, Laura will stop at nothing to unearth the truth. As she sees the dark side of endeavour and human nature, she also discovers a legacy of love, hope and the meaning of family. If only Laura can find her way...

Out of the ice.

My thoughts:

Environmental scientist Dr Laura Alvarado is no stranger to Antarctica, having spent the best part of her career conducting research in this harsh, pristine and untouched wilderness. When she is chosen to conduct an environmental impact assessment on Fredelighavn, an old Norwegian whaling station abandoned in the 1950’s after whaling had been made illegal, she is excited – the area has been an exclusion zone for decades, and Laura hopes to discover some interesting finds there. Yet her arrival on South Safety Island is far from what she had expected – the male scientists at the British base receive her with ill-concealed hostility and she learns that Dr Koch, the scientist assigned to be her partner for the project, has been delayed due to ill-health.

Not easily deterred and aware of time constrictions due to the climate, Laura sets out on her own to explore the old whaling station. Yet she is not quite prepared for what she finds there. Most of the houses appear as if people have left in a hurry, leaving even their most valued possessions behind, ready to step back into their old lives any minute. Even the wildlife is behaving in a bizarre manner, and Laura is horrified when she is attacked by a group of usually peaceful Adelie penguins. What has been done to these animals to make them so hostile towards humans? Looking around in the abandoned buildings, she has the eerie feeling of being watched, and suspects that the safety of the exclusion zone has been breached by intruders. Haunted by ghostly encounters and a strange vision in the ice, Laura questions whether her mind is playing tricks on her from being in Antarctica too long, or whether there is something sinister going on here. As Laura strives to uncover the truth and also come to terms with her own demons, the reader is taken on a journey from Antarctica to Nantucket to Venice, her initial research becoming a matter of life and death as she is trying to  stay one step ahead of people who will stop at nothing to protect their interests.  

I loved “The Lost Swimmer” and Ann Turner’s latest novel also had me spellbound from beginning to end. The setting is pure magic – skilfully evoking the harsh and yet beautiful environment of Antarctica, I felt like I was there myself, surrounded by ice and snow and wildlife I have only ever seen in documentaries. The whaling station is an amazing place of beauty and tragedy, and the perfect setting for the menacing undertones and suspense that were soon driving the story along. What better setting for a psychological thriller than the harsh and isolated environment of a place cut off from civilisation for the best part of the year? From the start, the reader knows that Laura is very much on her own here – ostracised by the male scientists on the island and not privy to the research being conducted here, she must draw on all her inner strength to uncover the truth and find some allies along the way. There is also a vulnerable side to Laura stemming from events in her past, which throws some of her reality into question and adds to the suspense. Is there really something sinister going on in the old whaling station, or is Laura losing her mind?

The history of whaling and the whaling community was both heartbreaking as well as an eye opener for me. Rarely is anything in history black and white – whilst our society abhor whaling and recognise these beautiful creatures as an amazing and intelligent species, some of our ancestors relied on whaling for their survival. Living in an area where whaling also formed a large part of history and where we regularly see these magnificent creatures in the wild, I loved Turner’s honesty regarding the topic and her willingness to explore it from all perspectives. I especially loved the descriptions of how these people set out into an alien environment and tried to make a home for themselves there, very much like the Adelie penguins building their nests.

I was absolutely captivated by the book and could not tear myself away, feeling transported into a different world from which I surfaced only reluctantly for food and water. Do not start reading this novel unless you are prepared to get nothing done! There were a couple of twists to the plot later in the book which seemed a little far fetched, and the end came perhaps a bit too soon and tied up too neatly for me, but all in all the mystery worked really well for me. Highly recommended, I can’t wait to read more from this amazing author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: WHAT SHE NEVER TOLD ME by Kate McQuaile

Title: What She Never Told Me
Author: Kate McQuaile
Publisher: Quercus
Read: March 2016



Synopsis (Goodreads): 

'I talked to my mother the night she died, losing myself in memories of when we were happiest together. But I held one memory back, and it surfaces now, unbidden. I see a green postbox and a small hand stretching up to its oblong mouth. I am never sure whether that small hand is mine. But if not mine, whose?'

Louise Redmond left Ireland for London before she was twenty. Now, more than two decades later, her heart already breaking from a failing marriage, she is summoned home. Her mother is on her deathbed, and it is Louise's last chance to learn the whereabouts of a father she never knew.

Stubborn to the end, Marjorie refuses to fill in the pieces of her daughter's fragmented past. Then Louise unexpectedly finds a lead. A man called David Prescott . . . but is he really the father she's been trying to find? And who is the mysterious little girl who appears so often in her dreams? As each new piece of the puzzle leads to another question, Louise begins to suspect that the memories she most treasures could be a delicate web of lies.

My thoughts:

After the sudden death of her vivacious and somewhat eccentric mother, Louise Redmond fears that she may never discover the answer to the secret which had stood between them for most of her adult life – the identity of her biological father. Born an illegitimate child in Ireland in the 1960’s, the topic has never been open for discussion and has been the cause of much pain and longing for Louise. Now the only hope left is that she may find some clues amongst her mother’s paperwork, or from her mother’s estranged family. Burdened by her raw feelings of loss and grief there is also the breakdown of her marriage to deal with, as well as some strange flash-backs to a small girl and a green mail-box which trigger panic attacks every time Louise thinks about them. What is it about the child that would cause such an intense emotional reaction? Even tracking down her estranged uncle cannot shed light on the mystery. Then Louise makes a discovery which may threaten the reality she has come to believe – even her own identity.

I loved the premise of the story – if well executed, family secrets make great material for mystery and suspense. And initially the book hit it off well for me – Louise, the narrator of the story, is a likeable and interesting woman in search of her own identity. It is obvious from the start that there are skeletons in the family closet which will throw Louise’s world into turmoil, and I looked forward to the slow unravelling of the clues. Unfortunately a few parts of the story did not work for me. I found Louise’s constant angst about her failing marriage distracting, whilst parts of the mystery, which could have been explored in more detail, were summarised almost too quickly in order to move the story along. Whilst her failing marriage was an integral part of Louise’s emotional state at the time, I got a bit irritated about the couple’s on again – off again relationship, when the real focus of the novel should have been the family secret she set out to explore. With a bit of tweaking and editing, the story could have made a great psychological thriller, but I felt that a lot of elements of suspense were lost along the way. Despite the message of practising forgiveness to save a relationship (even a betrayal that I felt was almost unforgivable), I found myself wishing that Louise would move on, find an inner strength she never knew she had and solve the mystery on her own as the independent strong woman she could have been.

All in all, a light and enjoyable read with a lovely Irish setting and some interesting characters – just not the psychological thriller I had hoped for.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: DIFFERENT CLASS by Joanne Harris

Title: Different Class
Author: Joanne Harris
Publisher: Doubleday
Read: March 2016
Expected publication: 21 April 2016



Synopsis (Goodreads):

After thirty years at St Oswald’s Grammar in North Yorkshire, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. Each class has its clowns, its rebels, its underdogs, its ‘Brodie’ boys who, whilst of course he doesn’t have favourites, hold a special place in an old teacher’s heart. But every so often there’s a boy who doesn’t fit the mould. A troublemaker. A boy with hidden shadows inside.

With insolvency and academic failure looming, a new broom has arrived at the venerable school, bringing Powerpoint, sharp suits and even sixth form girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist this march to the future, a shadow from his past is stirring. A boy who even twenty years on haunts his teacher’s dreams. A boy capable of bad things. 

My thoughts:

In Different Class, Joanne Harris takes us back into the halls of St Oswald’s Grammar School, the setting of her previous novel Gentlemen and Players. Readers of the first book in the series will be familiar with one of the main narrators, Latin master Roy Straitley, a dedicated teacher who once again has to put up a fight to save his beloved school from scandal and progress, which threatens traditions that are the very fabric of St Oswald’s. Following an incident at the school the previous year, a new headmaster has been employed to raise the school’s profile and bring it into the 21st century. Straitley, who recognises the new head as Johnny Harrington, an ex-pupil he had never really warmed to, soon realises that his fight to keep up tradition and his loyalty to an old friend accused of a terrible crime now threaten his position at the school. At the same time, a menacing shadow from the past resurfaces, and murder and mayhem once again befall St Oswald’s.

Told through the eyes of Straitley and a mystery narrator, the story switches back and forth in time, slowly revealing the events of the past that have led to St Oswald’s being under attack. Harris knows how to build tension, and the menace in the story of the mystery narrator is unmistakable. Interpersonal relationships, especially between pupils and teachers, feature strongly in the novel, raising many contemporary issues such as bullying, religion, gender and sexuality crises and the political climate changing the face of education today. Personally, I thought that some parts of the novel were a bit too long, which diluted the building tension and shadow of menace hanging over the school and its occupants – a bit of careful editing could easily fix that. Otherwise, Harris has once again produced a gripping psychological thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoyed Gentlemen and Players. Although it can be read as a stand-alone novel, I would recommend picking up the previous book in the series to become familiar with the setting and the characters, and settle in for a dark and gripping read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: THE MISSING HOURS by Emma Kavanagh

Title: The Missing Hours
Author: Emma Kavanagh
Publisher: Random House UK, Cornerstone
Read: February 2016
Expected publication: 21 April 2016



Synopsis (Goodreads):

A woman disappears

One moment, Selena Cole is in the playground with her children and the next, she has vanished without a trace.

A woman returns

Twenty hours later, Selena is found safe and well, but with no memory of where she has been.

What took place in those missing hours, and are they linked to the discovery of a nearby murder?

‘Is it a forgetting or a deception?’

My thoughts:

I have only just discovered author Emma Kavanagh and am halfway through the audio-version of her previous novel “Hidden” (which is great), so was thrilled to receive this preview copy of her latest novel from the publisher.

Psychologist Selena Cole and her husband have established a successful but unusual business together – negotiating ransom with kidnappers in an effort to free hostages. After her husband is tragically killed in a bomb blast during their last business trip, Selena is forced to take a step back from the business and concentrate on bringing up her two small daughters as a sole parent, still reeling from her loss. One afternoon, whilst taking the girls to the playground, Selena disappears without a trace. Considering her recent personal tragedy, police hold grave fears for her safety. When she appears  20 hours later unharmed but without recollection of the time she was “missing”, everyone is relieved and happy to close the case – everyone except DC Leah Mackay, who suspects that there may be something sinister underlying Selena’s “disappearance”. Something which may be connected to her former job as negotiator. Something which may even tie her to the murder of a lawyer who was found stabbed the same day Selena went missing. Leah just can’t let it rest ....

I loved the unusual background of this novel, especially the case histories of kidnap and ransom which are inserted into the storyline in the form of reports and add an intriguing element to this police procedural. Kavanagh has obviously done her research on the subject matter, and I found myself eagerly looking up various snippets of information that intrigued me, especially related to the drug “Devil’s Breath” – scary stuff! Whilst storylines with multiple POV’s can sometimes be disjointed or confusing, they worked well for me in this story, adding to the mystery and providing interesting background information. In the end, all stories come together in a surprising conclusion which perhaps did not answer all my questions but threw in a surprise element I had not considered.

All in all a satisfying and intriguing read – and the discovery of an author I hope to read a lot more from in future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: DARKEST PLACE by Jaye Ford

Title: Darkest Place
Author: Jaye Ford
Publisher: Random House Australia
Read: February 2016



Synopsis (Goodreads):

An adrenaline-pumping suspense novel from the author of Beyond Fear. What do you do when your nightmares are real – and no one believes you?

Carly Townsend is starting over after a decade of tragedy and pain. In a new town and a new apartment she's determined to leave the memories and failures of her past behind.

However that dream is shattered in the dead of night when she is woken by the shadow of a man next to her bed, silently watching her. And it happens week after week.

Yet there is no way an intruder could have entered the apartment. It's on the fourth floor, the doors are locked and there is no evidence that anyone has been inside.

With the police doubting her story, and her psychologist suggesting it's all just a dream, Carly is on her own. And being alone isn't so appealing when you're scared to go to sleep . . .

My thoughts:

Jaye Ford has been on my to-read list for a long time, and I was very excited to receive a free copy of her latest novel from the publisher – and it did not disappoint!

After the tragic death of her friends in a climbing accident and the breakdown of her marriage, Charlotte Townsend finds the burden of guilt and grief too much to bear and decides to move to the city to leave her sad past behind. Reinventing herself as “Carly” she buys a new funky apartment in a converted warehouse and enrols in a TAFE course with the intention of reconnecting to her younger, confident self. The first days in her new home are wonderful – as Carly meets some of the other residents of the apartment building, she feels for the first time in years that she is not burdened by her past. Perhaps there is hope for the future yet?

On the third night in her new home, Carly wakes in the middle of the night to the presence of an intruder in her room. The dark silhouette of a man is sitting on the side of her bed, gently stroking her, his breath touching her skin whilst she feels pinned to the bed, unable to move. Terrified, Carly calls the police, but despite an intense search of her apartment they cannot find any sign of illegal entry. Shaken, Carly is determined not to let the incident shatter her new found confidence. She makes sure that her doors and windows are locked at all times, and installs a security chain on the door for extra protection. But a few nights later the intruder appears again – and again. Without evidence, Carly’s credibility is questioned, until she can no longer trust anyone around her – including her own sanity.

Ford is a master of building suspense – once I picked up the book I could not put it down, which made for very little sleep! I loved the balance of suspense, drama and romance, which worked very well in this context. With well-drawn characters, each one coming with a complex and somewhat murky past, the shadow of suspicion falls heavily on many of them throughout the story’s progression, most of all on Carly herself. Can the reader really trust her account of events, given her fragile psyche?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a good suspense story – especially one with an Australian setting. A couple of elements in the ending did not quite work for me, but as a whole these minor quibbles did not dampen the enjoyment of reading this book to the end. One of my favourite reads this year so far.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.